In a world where some 720,000 hours of video content is shared daily on social media, Teesside’s Wander Films is helping brands stand out amidst the noise and create content that demands attention and truly makes a difference.
“People come to us when they want to beat the scroll,” says Chloe Clover, co-founder of Teesside-based video and content production company Wander Films.
The Middlesbrough-based business only opened its doors four years ago but has quickly established itself as a go-to video production and content marketing company for some of the world’s most iconic brands.
Putting authenticity, innovation and creativity at the centre of their work, the 18-strong team are known for their attention-grabbing content that gets their clients’ stories heard among the endless stream of content.
Formed in 2017, Wander Films was born from its co-founders’ travels across Australia and South East Asia. Chloe Clover and her partner – both in life and business – Lou Tonner met 8 years ago via the North East’s bustling music scene. The pair played in a band together with Lou on vocals and Chloe on drums.
At the time, they both found life wasn’t what they expected it to be and connected over a shared longing for a new adventure. Feeling “stuck” in their lives at home, they made the bold decision to buy one-way tickets to Australia. Thanks to Lou’s degree in Television & Film and Chloe’s passion for photography and filmmaking, the couple found work on a TV pilot in Sydney.
This was a lightbulb moment for them both. They had both found their purpose. From then on, the pair used their skills to fund their travels, offering businesses video content in exchange for accommodation, food and experiences. Soon, they were being paid for their work and Wander Films was born.
For many couples, going into business with their partner would be a recipe for disaster, but for Chloe and Lou, the success of their joint venture is, in part, thanks to the success of their personal relationship.
“Ever since we met, that was it, our gravity shifted to each other,” explains Chloe. “It’s amazing. It’s almost like our superpower; we are the bits that are missing from each other. It would never have worked without the other.
“Lou is sensible and reigns me in sometimes, and she knows when to push me, when to make me go out there and be a bit wild.”
They continued to work and travel across Australia and South East Asia, where they had some amazing experiences, but after several years of travelling, they sat down and decided the time had come to return home.
“We could have travelled forever and that would have been amazing, or we could go home, create something special, put down some roots and try to change the world,” Chloe said. “We went wandering to figure out what to do with our lives and we didn’t want to come back and put ourselves in a box.”
Chloe and Lou returned to their hometown of Middlesbrough in 2018 and brought Wander Films to the North East. Initially dedicated to video production, the company has since diversified to offer brands complete end-to-end content marketing, from content creation to marketing strategy and social media management.
“There’s a huge gap in the market, especially at that time, where businesses were creating what they wanted to put out, but they weren’t thinking about what people actually wanted to see,” Chloe continues.
“We identified quite early on that we would create this really cool content and we’d hand that over to the client, they’d think it was great, they’d share it, but then after that they sometimes were not getting the most out of the content.
“We realised quite quickly that we should pivot our business to include end-to-end content marketing. So, not only do we create really cool content and video animation, we also come up with a strategy and we deliver that.”
Chloe and Lou’s adventurous streak is alive and kicking in their content and company culture. A restless urge to do things differently and a refusal to be anything but themselves has attracted some of the world’s biggest brands and led to the company’s rapid growth over the past four years.
What started as a two-woman business is now a multi-talented, 18-strong team that works nationally and internationally with some of the world’s most recognisable brands. With clientele ranging from the BBC and Riot Games to McDonald’s and KPMG, it’s safe to say that the young company has made its mark.
“Brands come to us when they really want to shake things up, create something that really makes a difference and has impact,” says Chloe. “We get fed so much information and content on our phones and social media, and because of that it takes something extra special to break through and make people stop and pay attention.”
“Being real, being authentic and just having fun is what we started this business for. It doesn’t matter who we’re speaking to or working with, we are young, fresh and kind of weird, and we bring that personality to the brands we work with. We dig deep into their culture and personalities. Ultimately, our goal is to make sure our client and our team are happy with the end product.”
What is so refreshing about Wander Films is that its international success has not dampened its passion for the North East. Chloe and Lou are still committed to investing locally and working with regional clients.
“We feel really passionate about the North East. “There’s so much incredible talent here, we’re just not very good at shouting about it.”
Wander Films is showing no signs of slowing down. The business has recently moved to a new studio in Middlesbrough, boasting an open-plan design, editing suites, training rooms and a state-of-the-art studio.
With this new site comes a new mindset, Chloe said. The move which took place in June has brought their team further together and provided the strong footing they need to embark on the next phase of growth.
In addition to its marketing brand which continues to expand, Wander Films is now branching out into broadcast content. The team is currently producing a documentary with the BBC and aims to develop this arm of the business with further production projects across broadcast, streaming and TV.
There’s a lot happening,” Chloe added. “We’re developing some really cool broadcast work which is super exciting. This new part of the company is growing really fast as is our marketing brand.
“We’re becoming a producer’s firm where we develop our own ideas whether that’s within factual content, documentary or entertainment.”
To meet the increase in demand, Chloe and Lou have put plans in motion to expand their team as they look to hire for several senior roles, including Head of Development (TV production), Head of Marketing and other production talent.
The couple are also highly committed to bringing young people into the media industry through apprenticeship schemes, giving budding creatives the skills they need to succeed and thrive in what can be a highly competitive sector.
“There are some key positions we want to recruit into,” concludes Chloe. “We want to bring in experienced senior team members to help us grow our individual pillars of the business and help lead in those places.
“But then we’re also super passionate about apprenticeships and bringing young, fresh talent in and retaining them in our area. It’s really hard to get the skills you need to be a content creator from the education system. There’s a disconnect between the two at the moment; education is very traditional, but the world has moved on. So, we’re bringing in fresh talent and training them up is important to us.”
For more information about Wander Films, head to wander-films.co.uk.
